The Arthur Situation
The ongoing situation regarding Arthur's repeated "possessions" by some unknown demonic force, attacks against Ravyn, and all things related. Background Arthur Wright is a poltergeist initially encountered at a movie theater in 2007, in the company of his brother, Bobby. The Wrights were a persistent headache in general, interfering with daily operation and coming up against Etheridus in the effort of doing so. Eventually, Bobby was befriended, which forced Arthur to dial back his aggression a bit. However, further trouble developed in the form of Angelina, the vengeful spirit of Arthur's fiancee, whom he murdered in a manic fit. A half-conscious poltergeist herself, Angelina became obsessed with attempts to destroy him, and she would have stopped at nothing to accomplish it. Largely for Bobby's sake, the Wrights were relocated temporarily to Panama around 2011, in order to dissuade her from madly attacking the people around them. This was intended to be temporary, until such a time that Arthur was taken for Judgment for his actions against her, as well as himself and Bobby--all of whom he killed. The Wrights soon became a vital defense for their temporary home, and Judgment was delayed, due to Bobby's dependence on Arthur. The subject of what to do with them in the long-run was a common topic of debate for years, with no ready answer in sight. Though Angelina was finally put to rest in 2014, they remained in Panama until 2018. Sequence of Events A Stalemate As a condition of their "parole," the Wrights (specifically, Arthur) were required to be watched by a guardian at all times. Curtiss had filled this role in the interim, but with him moving to the States at the start of 2018, they were left without supervision. Purgatory's chronic staffing issues meant there was no one to replace him. The Council pushed to have them taken Upstairs by force, as Arthur was well overdo for Judgment. Despite agreeing that Arthur needed to be Judged (and disliking him personally), Etheridus fought this, on the grounds that taking him away would do Bobby irreparable harm. Himself being both a victim and an Innocent, this could not be allowed. In the absence of someone to watch them, the stalemate remained: Arthur could not be allowed to go free, but Bobby did not deserve to be hurt further...and taking Arthur away would ruin him. It was at this point that Ravyn came into the picture. Needing a change of pace, he volunteered to mind the Wrights while the higher-ups sorted out what to do with them. His bluntness and lack of fear made him a good candidate for the job, and the distance promised to give him some perspective on his own personal struggles. Despite the Council's misgivings, Abel approved the suggestion, and Ravyn relocated to mind the household's remaining ghosts: a sad teenage boy named Nick, the massive and childlike Bobby, and Arthur. Rough Start Arthur took poorly to the introduction of a new overlord. Finding Ravyn far less intimidating than Curtiss before him, he made several attempts at menacing him. The first one involved a gay slur, and ended with his nose getting broken. Further attempts all failed when the response to being name-called or challenged was Ravyn kicking his skinny ass. Within 24 hours, Etheridus was forced to intervene, reminding Arthur that Ravyn was there for his benefit. He assured him any further attempts at bothering his guard would result in a much more violent beating, and that if anything happened to Ravyn, he would never see another day. Defeated, Arthur gave up, settling to glare from a safe distance. All of this did little to endear Ravyn to Bobby, who became leery of him immediately. He attempted once to threaten him, only to be dissuaded when Ravyn reminded him who kept starting the fights, that he was there to help--and that he didn't take idle threats. Only Nick seemed to side with him, seemingly glad to have some defensive power between himself and Arthur. That night, sitting on the stairs of the house, Ravyn called home to check in, only to suddenly get disconnected when he was attacked from behind by Arthur, apparently armed with a kitchen knife. Etheridus got the distress call and rushed over, arriving just in time to watch the real Arthur hurl the imposter down the stairs. Inspired by Etheridus' earlier threat, he had chosen to intervene. The broken nose Ravyn gave him easily identified him as the real one. Double-Imposter The fall and a subsequent blast of white energy reduced the fake Arthur to a pile of twisted limbs. It was only then that they managed to identify it: the person who attacked Ravyn was Nick, spelled to look like Arthur. The logic of this was immediately flawed: even Arthur said Nick was the most harmless person in the house, and had seemed positive toward Ravyn. Attacking him at all, let alone violently, was not like him, and he lacked the necessary shapeshifting abilities to pull it off. Even if he had, it made no sense to take his shape, as Arthur was already well-hated and due for a death sentence. Nothing added up. As Bobby began to question what had happened to Nick, Ravyn surprised Arthur by saying simply that Nick had gotten hurt, and they were uncertain of whether he would be all right. This saved Arthur the trouble of blatantly lying to Bobby, which Bobby himself appreciated. It was the first step of several to earning their trust. By this point, Nero had examined the victim in Purgatory, and came to the conclusion that it was thankfully not Nick. It was an advanced clone of him, spelled to look like Arthur. The real Nick had been secretly missing, for so long that his energy was not even in the house anymore. This raised a bunch more questions right up front: if it was a clone, why spell it to look like someone else instead of sending another clone? Why use Arthur as the costume? Why use something like a knife, against a ghost? And where was the real Nick? Only one of these questions got an answer. Nick had wandered off in a fugue to pout, leaving his place in the house to be taken up by a clone. It had been there at least as long as Curtiss had been gone, having seamlessly replaced him. Why it was there, no one could know, as the clone was too destroyed to answer questions. But it had been left there for a reason--and it had come after Ravyn. A Tentative Truce Now alone with the Wrights, Ravyn made an attempt to call a truce with Arthur, as his intervention had likely saved him a nasty injury, or worse. With Bobby's steadily-warming encouragement, Arthur reluctantly agreed. They would simply leave each other alone. Arthur would not bother Ravyn, and Ravyn would not beat Arthur up. With so much else going on, it was the least they could do. A few weeks passed in relative silence, with Ravyn spending his days minding Bobby and avoiding Arthur. Bobby quickly grew to like him, appreciating that Ravyn was willing to explain things to him, and to treat him like an adult while still sparing his feelings. It was a far cry from the babying treatment he was used to. For his part, Arthur found ways of being passive-aggressive, ignoring calls for his attention and being a lingering thunderhead in any room he was in. Ravyn blandly disregarded him. Bobby, meanwhile, shocked both of them when he suddenly changed teams, childishly commanding Arthur to "be nice to him." Ravyn found this hilarious; Arthur did not. Still, he was unwilling to have to fight Bobby as well as Ravyn, so he largely backed off. At least, from what he had been doing. It wasn't until Ravyn woke up with Arthur staring at him that he guessed he was changing tactics. His first response was the usual one: he hit him in the eye. (to be completed) About-Face (Summary mode; to be expanded: And then Arthur attempted to assault Ravyn. He almost managed. Ravyn managed to defend himself. All the while, Arthur claimed he didn't mean to, even as he was dragged to Purgatory for injuries related to the attempt. Something else was going on but Ravyn was done. He came home.) Conclusions The situation is ongoing as of early 2018. Theories Arthur is a (Human) Demon? Possible: Arthur has done a lot of bad, and sometimes that is a requirement for a human becoming a demon. This usually happens before death, but Arthur was--at one point--looking at being Reaped for what he did in life. If the alternative is less grisly, he might have made a deal? Debunked: Arthur is a skeptical sort; didn't believe in the afterlife until he was already dead. Odds of him making a deal with a demon in life are pretty low, as he wouldn't be a poltergeist. Him making a deal after is also unlikely. Bobby would probably have snitched, and plainly, Arthur isn't that ballsy. Does Sin Cancel Out Free Will? Possible: This guy did a lot of truly ghastly shit in his life, with murder being just part of it. While only a portion of his actions were truly his choice--the rest having been triggered by steadily-worsening mental disturbances and psychosis--a sin is still a sin. Is it possible that demons have some influence over people who have done truly terrible things? Note: Possibly confirmed by Frederike? More insight needed. Related Reports * An End of Suffering - the last encounter with Angelina (2014) * New Assignment - Ravyn's decision to guard the Wrights * The Arthur SItuation - summary of events as they first developed * Under Siege - an assault attributed to those responsible for Arthur's involuntary possessions Category:Ongoing Problems